Tricked?
by pikagurl23
Summary: Halloween Fic! Misty and Brock attend the trendiest Halloween party in Pallet Town, but when a mysterious masked man sweeps Misty off of her feet, will she inevitably allow herself to be tricked by his charms?


Disclaimer: Don't Own Pokemon!

A/N: Okay, so here I am with another one-shot (and I promise it won't be a behemoth of a fic)! So anyways, this idea came to me because I had wanted to kind of incorporate Halloween into the pokemon world. So, I hope you all enjoy it and, like all my other fics, it is a romance fic (bet you can't guess which one ^^). Anyways, enjoy and Happy Halloween!

**Tricked?**

The night was cool with the air of fall and the sky was littered with millions of twinkling stars. Children fashioning the trendiest Halloween costumes adorned the well lit streets of Cerulean City, carrying bags upon bags full of candy and other treats acquired earlier that night. They all chatted merrily with their friends as they strolled along the streets surrounding the hometown's gym.

However serene and playful the atmosphere outside was, the inside of the said gym was anything but.

"Like Daisy, where the hell did you put my curling iron?!" shrieked Lily as she stomped around the gym looking for her eldest sister.

"It's, like, currently being preoccupied with my hair!" Daisy shot back from the upstairs bathroom.

Lily grumbled something under her breathe as she flew up the stairs at lightening speed in search of both her sister and her curling iron.

"Hey, I thought I was next!" came Violet's immature retort.

At that, all three sisters went into an all out brawl about who was next to use what and how long the other would be using it.

Twenty-one year old Misty Waterflower groaned aloud as she heard the beginning phases of yet another argument stirring between her three sisters. It always amazed her at how far their voices could carry in the huge gym and how clearly she could hear each and every retort, remark, and curse word thrown about. Even with the door _closed_, her television blaring, _and_ her room being a whopping five doors down from the fight, she could still hear the irritating valley girl voices of all three siblings as they continued to argue about the most immature of things.

Misty only sighed to herself, wondering why she wasn't blessed with three brothers instead.

Shaking thoughts of her sisters from her head, she glanced over at her wall clock and noticed that it was nearing 8 o'clock. Brock would be by to pick them up soon and, if it was one thing Misty hated, it was being late.

She slowly got off of her bed, making sure not to wrinkle the dress she was wearing and clicked the TV off. Grabbing her purse, she made to walk towards her door when she stopped to check herself over in her mirror. Misty was never one to spend hours upon hours in the bathroom doing her make-up or fawning over her hair, but she had to admit, she didn't look half bad.

She was wearing a knee length pale blue dress that flared out a bit, however hugging her curves in all the right places. She had curled her long red hair slightly at the tips and wore a sparkling tiara to complete her look. A bit of make-up and she looked like a completely different person, one she was not accustomed to seeing stare back at her in the mirror.

Her 'princess' outfit had been the right choice, now that she thought about it. It was simple, yet elegant and fitted her perfectly. She smiled at her reflection and twirled a strand of hair around her finger nervously.

Misty just hoped she looked good enough for—

"Like, Misty! Have you seen my heels?!"

Misty cringed as her thoughts were interrupted and all signs of nervousness vanished instantaneously. She rolled her eyes and sighed, heading for her door and to the aid of whichever sister had beckoned her.

"God Lily, I swear you're like a little kid sometimes!" Misty replied, exasperated as she headed for her sister's room.

"Am not!" Lily whined, only proving Misty's point.

Misty smiled wearily at her sister's immature response and rummaged through her mess of a room, only to find the said 'heels' in a heap under her bed.

"Found them!" sighed Misty. Sometimes she felt like her sisters were completely dependant upon her.

And they were supposed to be _older_ than her!

Carrying the heels, Misty threw them to her older sister and glanced at their outfits. They were dressed as 'modern day three musketeers' and she had to stifle a giggle at how _alike_ they all looked.

"Well, like, what do you think?" asked Daisy, posing for her youngest sister.

Lily and Violet joined her on either side, striking model like poses for their sister. They simultaneously pulled out their cardboard swords and raised them high in the air for dramatic effect.

"Like, all for one!" announced Daisy.

"And, like, one for all!" finished Lily and Violet.

Another thing that amazed Misty was the fact that they could all throw in their 'valley girl likes' in the middle of a sentence at exactly the same time. It wasn't normal, nor was it something Misty could ever get used to.

She merely rolled her eyes at the trio and smiled weakly at them.

"Now, like, where the hell's Brock? I'm starved!" announced Violet, breaking out of their pose.

"Maybe you should have gone as the three little pigs instead…" muttered Misty under her breathe.

"Like, what was that little sister?" asked Daisy, narrowing her eyes at her suspiciously.

Before Misty had a chance to respond, Lily piped up.

"Oh, ignore her, she's probably, like, totally anxious to see her little boyfriend, isn't that right Mist?" teased Lily.

Misty sighed angrily.

"For the _one hundredth time_ Ash is not my _boyfriend_," And she made sure to emphasize that last word for she had heard enough from her sisters about her _supposed_ secret crush on the boy whom she had befriended at the age of ten.

Of course, it didn't matter either way that her _supposed _crush was actually a real one…

"And what ever makes you think, like, we were talking about him?" asked Violet innocently, though there was nothing innocent about her, "I mean, we could have been, like, talking about Brock or Tracey even."

"Hey hey! Like, Tracey's mine," said Daisy defensively, folding her arms in front of her.

Misty only rolled her eyes as the other two giggled at Daisy's outburst and obvious crush on the pokemon watcher. Before much else could be said, the sound of a car horn blared throughout the house causing all heads to look towards the front door.

"That's Brock, come on. Let's go," sighed Misty, glad that the conversation about her and Ash had come to a screeching halt.

"See, she's anxious to see her little boy toy," whispered Lily to Daisy and Violet as all three erupted into silent giggles.

Misty craned her neck back a bit and brought her fingers up to the sides of her head, rubbing at her temples to alleviate the sudden migraine her sister's had inadvertently caused.

This was going to be one hell of an interesting night, Misty thought as she slammed the door to the gym and hopped into the front seat of Brock's SUV.

After Brock had finished ogling Misty's sisters and throwing complements of the grandest kind their way, he finally started the engine and sped off in the direction of Pallet Town.

The Halloween party was being held in Pallet Town and was being hosted by, none other, than Professor Oak and his grandson, Gary Oak. From what Misty had heard, they had pulled out all the stops and had transformed the whole laboratory, both inside and out, into one huge extravaganza. Everyone who was anyone was supposed to be there: gym leaders, members of the Elite Four, League officials, Officer Jennys and Nurse Joys (much to Brock's delight), various pokemon trainers, and other residents of Pallet that were deemed worthy to attend the prestigious event.

Well, maybe prestigious wasn't the right word…

"Mist, did you hear me? Hello, Earth to Misty," Brock was waving a hand in front of her face, while keeping his other on the wheel, and stared at his friend oddly.

Misty shook her head of her thoughts and focused on her long time friend. He had also dressed up for the occasion. He was clad in pirate attire from head to toe, a wooden sword dangling haphazardly from his belt. He even had a stuffed parrot perched on his shoulder to complete his look.

"Sorry Brock, what was that?"

He laughed good-naturedly before continuing, "Spacing off already? We haven't even gotten there yet."

"Oh, she's just daydreaming about her little boy—ow!" Misty had just recoiled her fist from Lily's exposed thigh, leaving a small bruise in the process, "Like, what the hell was that for?!"

"Your smart, I'll let you figure it out on your own," came Misty's smug retort.

Lily grumbled a few choice words under her breathe, but never loud enough for the youngest Cerulean sister to hear. She didn't need another bruise ruining her perfect complexion, after all!

Daisy and Violet giggled at Lily's misfortune, but soon turned quiet when they received her death glare and scoff of resentment.

Misty ignored them and placed her attention back on Brock who was, all the while, confused as to what exactly they were talking about.

"Ignore them…what was it you asked earlier?" asked Misty politely.

"Hmm? Oh! Um…well, have you talked to Ash lately?" he asked nonchalantly.

"I talked to him a couple of weeks ago, but other than that, not really. He's been kind of distant lately," she finished and looked off through her window sadly.

It was true. With Ash's constant traveling and rigorous training schedule, he hardly had anytime at all to himself, let alone his friends. Though Misty and Brock knew he would never completely shut them out of his life (it was them that had helped him through some of the rougher times in his younger training days, after all), they knew the times they did see him would be few and farther.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess I kind of miss that little kid too," smiled Brock as he rested his left arm on his windowsill.

Misty smiled at that and turned towards him once more, "He's not a little kid anymore, Brock. He's twenty-one years old and that hardly constitutes being a child."

"Yeah, I guess your right. But you guys will always be those two little kids that I would have to constantly feed, take care of, break up arguments…"

"Okay, okay, you made your point," Misty interrupted dryly.

"Yeah, well, where I was actually going with that before I got sidetracked was, well, he called me the other day about our costumes. He told me that he would be completely unrecognizable at the party and that neither of us would be able to tell him apart from the rest of the guests. He even bet me twenty bucks that I couldn't pick him out of the crowd," laughed Brock, recalling his chat with his friend, "I just wanted to know if he'd spilled the beans about his costume to you. I don't wanna miss out on twenty bucks!"

Misty giggled at him, but shook her head, "Nope sorry. He hasn't said a word to me."

Brock gave a mock frown and laughed, "Ah well, that's okay. How _good_ could his costume be, right? Promise you'll keep a lookout for me?"

"Of course Brock, on one condition though…" Misty smirked, giving his confused look a side-glance.

"And what might that be?"

"You split that twenty with me."

Ten minutes later, the group had pulled up in front of the laboratory and were now piling out of Brock's truck. As they approached the gates of the lab, they awed at the decorations adorning the entire landscape and at the amount of people present, all clad in costumes of course.

As they entered the main hall, the inside was almost unrecognizable. It had been completely transformed to a dance hall, complete with DJ, snack tables, bar area, and plenty of seating. Even the backyard of the lab had been donned with chairs, tables, and their own separate dance floor, for which people were already enjoying themselves. The pokemon, also, seemed to be having a good time as some of them danced, chatted, or ate with one another, enjoying the easy going atmosphere and taking a break from the usual regimen of battle.

Misty was about to ask Brock if she saw the Professor when, all of a sudden, a red blur jumped into her arms. Surprised, she gasped and caught whatever it was that had jumped at her. It seemed to be a…ketchup bottle?

"Pikachupi!"

"Pikachu!" Misty squealed in recognition, hugging the small electric rodent and realizing that it too was in costume for the night.

She giggled at the pokemon's outfit and pulled it away slightly to inspect further. Sure enough, her eyes were not playing tricks on her. The ketchup bottle costume extended down to the ground, where two yellow feet protruded, up it's torso, where it's paws were dangling, and up to the top and above it's head, where Pikachu's ears were sticking out.

"You look adorable Pikachu," smiled Misty, hugging the pokemon once more.

"Chaaa!" it thanked, placing a paw behind its head in embarrassment, "Pikachu pika pi chu chu!"

Misty smiled once again at the pokemon, understanding every word. It had told her that she looked great too.

"Thanks pal."

"Hey Pikachu, is Ash here?" Brock suddenly spoke up, examining the lab area and trying to pick out his friend in the crowd.

It nodded it's head and smiled mischievously.

"Where is he?" asked Brock, scanning the crowd, unaware of the look on Pikachu's smug face.

"Pi-ka-chu!" it had emphasized very clearly to Brock that it was not about to give away it's trainer's disguise or location.

Misty giggled as Brock furrowed his brow, but continued the search for his raven haired companion.

"Pikachu pika!"

With those parting words, Pikachu bounded out of Misty's arms and through the crowd of people until Misty had lost sight of it. She sighed sadly as Pikachu scampered off, but soon put a smile on her face when she saw who was approaching them.

"Professor Oak! Mrs. Ketchum, how are the two of you?"

In the spirit of Halloween, the Professor and Ash's mother had also dressed up to celebrate. Professor Oak had a long black cape with a long black and red collar that flipped up at the neck. He was wearing what seemed to be a tuxedo underneath and had plastic fangs protruding out of his mouth awkwardly.

Delia also donned a cape, though hers was pale pink in color. She also wore a long pink dress that touched the floor and fashioned a pointy black hat on her head. A straw made broom was propped up on her shoulder as she smiled at the pair of them.

"Misty, Brock! So good to see you both!" she smiled sweetly, giving them both a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Yes, yes. We're so glad you could make it," smiled Professor Oak, who offered handshakes to the pair, "But Misty, where are your sisters? I thought they would be coming too."

"Oh they are…" Misty trailed off as she turned around, only to be met with a gap with which her sisters once vacated, "Well, they _were_ here."

Brock, clearing his throat, poked Misty in the arm and pointed off to one side. She turned to where he was indicating and, sure enough, there they were, off at the bar and flirting with as many guys as possible.

"Of course…" muttered Misty.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves!" laughed Oak good-naturedly.

Misty only rolled her eyes at his, though she made sure to hide it from him.

"Misty, dear, you look absolutely gorgeous by the way," fawned Ash's mother as she gave Misty the once over and smiled pleasantly.

"Oh thank you," Misty could feel her face flush a little and hoped the dim environment hid it well.

"Well, we'll let you kids get back to the party. Have fun you two!" said Oak as he started towards the other side of the room.

Delia was about to follow when Brock caught hold of her arm and stared at her nervously.

"Mrs. Ketchum…you-you wouldn't happen to know where Ash is, do you?"

At this, she only giggled and gave him an all-knowing glance, gently breaking out of his grasp and finding the Professor once more.

"I thought so…" he sighed.

"Oh Brock, cheer up! It's only twenty dollars, after all. And, who knows, maybe you'll accidentally run into him or something," laughed Misty, pulling him by the arm towards the bar area, "This is a party, let's have some fun!"

After that, Brock bucked up and nodded jovially at his enthusiastic friend. They seated themselves at the make-shift bar and looked over the selection gratefully.

"Thank god…I could use a drink," he laughed, hailing the bartender politely, "Excuse me, could I get a Johnny Walker on the rocks please?"

"You got it mack," replied the bartender as he grabbed a glass and the said alcohol.

"You want anything?" asked Brock, pulling out his wallet, "First round's on me."

"Hmm…" mused Misty, looking at the variety of drinks to choose from. She normally wasn't the type to go drinking on a regular basis, but did have the occasional wine or mixed drink when she felt she needed to unwind. She wasn't an expert on alcohol, but she knew what she liked. And it just so happened, she was feeling like a nice cold long island iced tea.

Before she had a chance to respond, however, a second bartender placed a brownish colored drink in front of her, threw a straw and lemon in it, then went about his business, helping other guests that had just arrived.

Brock gave her a confused look, one that mirrored her own, before she hailed the bartender that had given her the drink.

"Excuse me, but I didn't order this," Misty said politely.

The bartender looked back at her, then stared at the drink a moment before a realization hit him. He walked over to Misty, while mixing a martini in the process, and leaned over.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention that it's from that guy down at the end," he said, motioning his head to the far end of the bar.

Misty's eyes followed his motion until they fell on a cloaked figure sitting by himself at the end of the bar, nursing a bottle of beer. From what she could tell from her angle and because of the dim lighting, he was slouched over, a black cape covering most of his body, with a long black musketeer type hat on his head. The hat was covering his eyes and most of his facial features, no matter how hard Misty tried to get a better view.

"Looks like someone has a secret admirer," teased Brock as he took a long sip from his cold beverage, "What did he get you?"

Misty smiled at him, looked at the young man down at the end, then back at the glass in front of her. She lifted it up and sniffed it, smelling the familiar aroma of alcohol filling her senses. Taking a tentative sip, she smiled once again upon tasting the familiar liquid on her tongue.

"My favorite…long island iced tea," she told him, though a small nagging at the back of her mind told her it was no coincidence.

"Whoa, good guess huh?" laughed Brock, downing the last of his drink rather hastily, "Bartender, could I get another please?"

Misty rolled her eyes at him and laughed, "Another one already Brock? Slow down, we just got here!"

"Hey, you told me to have fun and that's exactly what I'm doing!" he replied, crossing his arms in front of him, "Besides, pirates need their alcohol." He finished before flipping down his eye patch over his right eye.

Misty giggled at him once again, but soon, her attention had once again been distracted by, whom Brock had said to be, her secret admirer. She turned towards the end of the bar but, to her slight disappointment, all she saw was his empty glass and stool.

Her eyes went downcast as she held the drink, taking small sips. She had truly wanted to thank the young man properly and introduce herself to the stranger.

"Looking for me?" came a deep, suave voice directly behind Misty.

She picked her head up, sensing the presence behind her and feeling the warm breathe of the individual who, she assumed, had paid for her drink. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and, suddenly, her heart rate picked up as if he had scared her.

Finally, she turned around to face the young man properly. He was no more than a few inches away from her as he stood there, giving her a soft smile. Now, she realized, she knew why it had been so difficult to see his face before.

A black and white mask covered his bluish-brown eyes and the upper part of his face, only leaving his lower cheeks and mouth exposed to her. His hat was tipped down in the front to give him a look of mystery (to which Misty thought he had accomplished quite well) and his black hair poked out untidily under the hat.

If his mask and hat were off, Misty was confident he would be the most handsome person she had ever seen.

Ignoring her pounding heart, she pushed her glass in his direction, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. Thank you for the drink, it was very generous of you."

He smiled at her and looked at her costume innocently.

"It was no problem for a beautiful lady such as yourself," he replied, bowing his head a bit in chivalrous fashion.

"Oh…why thank you," Misty blushed, running a nervous hand through her hair, "That's nice of you to say."

"Oh, I gotta write this down…" Brock trailed off, pulling a pad and pen from the confines of his pirate attire, "Keep…compliment…simple…will…win…the ladies…every time…" he finished, placing the period rather forcefully on his pad.

The young man chuckled at Brock's antics as Misty leaned her head against her hand in embarrassment. Just when Misty was about to comment, however, she heard the music change to that of a lighter tone. Though it wasn't a song she recognized, she swayed gently to the beat and closed her eyes dreamily.

If only a certain _someone_ were there to sweep her off her feet and ask her to dance, but no, the person she knew would never stoop to that level of romanticism.

"Miss, may I have this dance?"

Misty opened her eyes once more to be met with the young man bowing and offering his black gloved hand to her. She smiled at him thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't. I'm here with my friend and--"

"Oh, just go with him. I think I'm going to go see if a Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny would care to dance with me," he said, finishing off his second drink of the evening and standing to stretch, "By the way, let me know if you see Ash okay?"

"Oh umm…okay," she said nervously, aware of the fact that she now _had_ to dance with this stranger, "I'm sure he'll pop up sometime. Don't worry, you'll find him."

Brock only shrugged at this then left in search of a dancing partner.

With Brock gone, Misty turned to her new admirer and smiled shyly at him. Finally, she took his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor without another word. Upon reaching a fairly vacant area of the floor, he gently placed his arms around her slim frame as she, tentatively, placed hers around his neck.

He slowly led her around, swaying her to the sounds of the music filtering out of the sound system. Misty smiled at him and admired his grace on the dance floor. It was then that she realized that she hadn't even introduced herself to him yet.

"My name's Misty by the way…I didn't catch yours," she said, tilting her head to one side.

"I'm called a lot of things by a lot of different people," he said vaguely, smiling back at her, "And I _am_ a lot of things to a lot of different people."

"Oh? And what are you to me?" she asked playfully.

A soft gaze overtook his handsome features, almost as if he were contemplating something. He looked down at the ground in an almost nervous fashion, before leaning closer to her to whisper in her ear.

"I'll be whatever you want me to be," he breathed before slowly pulling his face away from hers.

Misty looked almost thoughtful as he said the words. The raw emotion elicited from his simple words made her heart start to pound that familiar pace once more. She nervously played with the collar of his neck, and yet never broke eye contact with the young man. He was alluring in a very familiar way and his bluish-brown eyes not once faltered under her curious gaze. There was more to this man than meets the eye, but what, Misty was unsure.

"I see…well, I apologize in advance then. No matter how hard you try, you could never be the man I'm in love with," she replied, receiving a sad glance from the young man.

And, for the first time since their meeting, he stuttered, "I-I understand…you already have someone then?"

"Well…not quite…" she trailed off, receiving a confused glance from the mystery man, "What I said before was true…I am in love with him, but he has no idea of my feelings for him…and I doubt he feels the same."

"No…I'm-I'm sure that's not true. He'd have to be a complete idiot not to want someone like you," he said, trying to convince himself.

Misty giggled at that and realized how on the mark the man had been.

"Maybe…but regardless of all that, I'm still in love with him, for some weird, unexplained reason that I'm still trying to figure out," she giggled, then sighed sadly, "I wonder sometimes how or why or even when I fell in love with him and I find that thinking about it only confuses me more."

"Love is…a very confusing emotion. It makes us do crazy things that we would have never done had we not fallen for them," he sighed somewhat forlornly.

Misty nodded at him and gave him a light smile, "Yeah, I guess your right. And Ash…he-he means everything to me," she finished without thinking but, at the moment, did not care that she was spilling her inner most thoughts to a complete stranger.

The young man went rigid in front of her and stopped all swaying that was previously being conducted. He held her at arms distance, a glazed over look overtaking his eyes and smooth features.

Misty gave him a questioning glance, wondering if she had been out of line with her feelings. She was about to apologize when he swiftly pulled away from her.

"I-I'm sorry…I need some air," he said and hurried out the back door, leaving Misty on the dance floor.

Snapping herself out of her reverie, she quickly chased after him, for some reason, not wanting to let him out of her sight. She pushed through the crowds of people and finally found her way through to the back door of the lab.

Pushing the door open, she noticed that most of the party had gone inside and that only Misty and the stranger remained.

She softly closed the door behind her and approached tentatively. He was leaning against the railing of the balcony, breathing heavily, and holding his head in his right hand. Slowly, not wanting to startle him, she spoke softly, "I'm sorry about what I said. I was out of line and I-I know I must have made you uncomfortable."

The young man lifted his head up at the sound of her voice. Slowly, but unsurely, he turned to face her, his arm still firmly atop the wooden railing.

Through his mask, Misty could see a mixture of emotions welling up in his eyes. Emotions she was all too familiar with. His calm, yet sad look made her want to rush up to him and hug him. But why? Why would she willingly run into the arms of a complete stranger?

Ignoring her insecurities, she took a few small steps towards him and still, he stood, unwavering and unmoving. She wasn't quite sure what he was thinking, but knew that she had probably been the cause of his distress.

"I'm sorry about--"

"Did you mean what you said?" he interrupted suddenly and she had to replay his words in her head to make sure she heard correctly.

"Mean what?"

"About-about you being in love," he said hesitantly, his deep voice cracking a bit.

Misty gave him an awkward glance, that being the last thing she expected him to ask.

"I-well, yes. I mean, I meant every word of it…I'm in love with him," she answered truthfully and found herself, yet again, piecing her words together in a sane, coherent fashion.

"With Ash?" and she nodded slowly to his question.

"I don't see how that makes any difference to you," she said, giving him a small smile and walking up next to him to stare out beyond the fields of the laboratory.

His gaze, however, was focused solely on her.

"I haven't seen him all night…he's probably in there mingling with other trainers…other girls…" she trailed off, letting her gaze drop to the floor sadly.

Through her words, he continued to stare at her. He watched as her gaze faltered a bit and watched as her face lightened in sadness of her own words. Still, he continued to watch her as the light from the moonlight cast an almost heavenly glow to fall around her and, in that moment, he knew he had never seen a more beautiful girl.

"What if…what if I told you that-that he was in love with you too…?" he whispered almost incoherently.

Misty's ears perked up as she picked her gaze up and focused it on the young man next to her. As she stared into his warm eyes, she had to wonder what had possessed him to say such a thing. He sounded almost…sure of himself, as if Ash himself had told him, but that couldn't be. Of all of Ash's friends that Misty knew, she was sure that she had never met the one next to her. But then why had she felt so drawn to him all night long? She had known him for only an hour (and still didn't even know his name) and yet, she felt this indescribable connection with him, one she only shared with a few select people.

Giving him a somewhat confused smile, she finally asked, "But, how could you possibly…"

Misty's smile slowly faded, eyes going wide with shock and realization as she trailed off, all train of thought lost to the mixed emotions swelling about in her mind and heart. She swallowed the lump in her throat and felt her voice catch. She wasn't sure what to think…what to believe. Had she truly just admitted her love to the one standing next to her? The one that had caused her such heartache from the beginning…the one that she was constantly trying to impress…the one with whom had stolen her heart from day one…

Feeling the familiar sting of tears come to the corners of her eyes, she turned towards the open fields and stared, though she could not enjoy it's splendor. Her eyes were clouded over in disbelief and she was still trying desperately to comprehend what exactly had taken place.

Feeling the familiar pains of guilt reach his heart, the young man came up behind her and placed his arms on either side, resting them on the railing in front of them. He leaned ever closer to her, unsure of what she was thinking at the moment, and whispered softly into her ear.

"Like I said before…people call me a lot of things…a hero…a trainer…the chosen one…"

Misty let out a small gasp at his last words, though, it seemed, her heart had known the answer all along. Yet, she didn't want to believe it. It just had to be a dream of some sort, right? There was no way _he_, of all people, would return her feelings for him. He was too caught up in training, in his pokemon, family…to even worry or consider feeling the same way towards her. _This_ romantic man…couldn't possibly be the one she had fallen for. The one she had fallen for was irresponsible, rash in his thinking, stubborn, had a terrible sense of direction…was kind, forgiving, courageous and oftentimes too concerned with others' safety to worry about his own.

She truly had fallen for that wanna-be hero…that less than perfect trainer…and the person whom _they_ referred to as the chosen one…

"Ash…" she murmured softly, eyes closing and feeling those silent tears falling in full.

In response, he took off his hat, rested his chin on her shoulder and turned it inwards to nuzzle the crook of her bare neck. He took in her very scent of fresh flowers, her silky smooth skin that constantly taunted him, and that sultry sound of her soft breaths in the night. He gently and slowly brought his hand up to brush against her face, wiping away her tears and, what he hoped, would be any resentment she might be feeling towards him.

He had tricked her, plain and simple. But he, honestly, hadn't planned on doing so. He only wanted to please her, make her happy, possibly tell her how he really felt about her…what he wasn't expecting was her confession to a, seemingly, complete stranger. It had caught him off guard that she could possibly feel that way towards him…that she thought so highly of him…and that, like him, she had fallen as well.

Cupping her chin in his hand, he slowly turned her to face him, if only so that he could examine her and determine how angry or hurt she was by his deception. But, instead of loathing and anger, he saw an emotion so unlike Misty.

Fear.

But, what was she afraid of? Him? Or how he had so blatantly exposed his own feelings for her? Either way, it was beginning to scare him as well.

But, for whatever reason, Misty inched her face towards his ever so slowly. And Ash, feeling a strong pull in her direction, leaned in as well. He knew what was going to happen and it made him smile to even think that she wanted it too.

And then, the inevitable occurred.

Their lips met and their hands intertwined with the others. What had started as a simple kiss, soon mounted and turned into a passionate display of love…a love that had been kept hidden for far too long.

Ash lifted Misty's chin gently as he deepened their first kiss and soon, took her in his arms, to hold her and calm her shivering body…though, as to the cause of her trembling (the kiss or the chill in the air), he wasn't sure but found it difficult to care much. The only thing he was focused on was Misty and the sudden realization that she had felt it too, that over the past ten years or so, she had fallen for him as he had her.

Misty had been dreaming of this moment since the realization of her feelings for him had hit her full force all those years ago. She had never once considered this to become reality but, as she melted more and more into his soft, yet hesitant touches, she knew it was meant to be this way. It became clear that he loved her just as much, if not more, than she loved him and she would not have it any other way…forget the fact that he _had _tricked her into admitting it in the first place.

Slowly, yet reluctantly, the pair broke away, breathless and a bit warmer than they were before.

Misty was the first to recover and she slowly opened her eyes to meet his caring ones. Realizing that he still had his mask on, she gently reached up and removed it from his face, holding it gingerly in her hands.

There, standing before her, was the young man that had stolen her heart.

She couldn't help but smile at him and gently caressed his cheek with her other hand, loving their skin on skin contact. Misty could feel him lean into her touch and she couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

Ash, then, leaned his head forward and nearly breathed into her ear the three words she had longed to hear from him since they had met.

"I love you…"

Misty pulled away slightly, an amused look on her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tiny smirk.

"Could've fooled me…" she murmured back before bringing his head down to meet hers and share in their second kiss of the night, "I love you too Ash…" came her breathless reply.

Ash let out a small laugh before, once again, melting into her soft touch and smooth kisses. He loved the taste of her and felt an unexplainable hunger overwhelm him. Wrapping his arms around her frame, he felt himself fall a little deeper than before, deepening the kiss and appeasing the ache he had within his, now, sated heart.

It was all he could ever hope for.

Misty pulled away once again, ending the kiss, and sighed contentedly in his arms.

"Tell me one thing…" she said, looking up at him from her position and tilting her head in confusion.

'Here it comes…' Ash thought, wearily, 'She's going to grill me about tricking her and then I'll never hear the end of it. Why couldn't it be enough just to love her?'

Ash wasn't about to receive the brunt end of this so, in typical Ash-fashion, he intercepted her.

"Look, I'm sorry I tricked you, but that wasn't my intention! I only…well, originally I only did it to trick Brock and get the twenty dollars from him, honest! But then…I saw you sitting at the bar and…and you looked so-so beautiful that I really wanted to try and impress you. I had made up my mind that tonight would be the night that I told you the truth about…well, about what just transpired between us. Come on Mist, don't give me an ear full, I'm begging you…" he groaned pathetically, but then stopped when he noticed the very confused look on her face.

"Ash, I was only going to ask about your eyes," she laughed, turning away from him so that she could wipe away the tears that were threatening to fall due to his overly anxious and thought out answer.

"I-what? My-my eyes?" he asked, somewhat dumbfounded and wondering why the girl in front of him wasn't using him as a human punching bag.

"Their blue."

Ash's confused look only resulted in more giggles on Misty's part until, _finally_, he caught on to what exactly she was insinuating.

"Ohhh…" he drew out, shaking his head at his obvious stupidity and giving off a light chuckle of his own, "Their contacts. I was dead set on tricking Brock so I needed to pull out all the stops. Though, dying my hair blonde would have been a bit over the top," he finished, running a hand through his thick, black locks, "Therefore, the hat."

He quickly popped the contacts out of his eyes and discarded them. Facing Misty once more, he smiled when she traced a lone finger from his temple and down to his jaw line.

"Now there are those beautiful brown eyes that I know and love…" she breathed, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Aww…is that all?" he teased, pulling her closer to him.

"Sorry Romeo, but we are at a party after all," she laughed, pushing him away playfully, "Which reminds me…let's get back inside."

"Huh? Why?"

"So I can go claim my half of the money," she answered simply, grabbing his hat and putting it back on his head, "Now don't say a word until I say so, okay? And you better put that mask back on as well."

He nodded quickly, unsure of what exactly she was planning, and threw the mask back onto his face.

Grabbing his hand, Misty pulled him back into the laboratory and wove through the guests, eyes roving the scene for a tuft of brown spiky hair.

Just then, the sound of someone slapping someone else rang through her ears as she whipped her head around at the source of the noise. A broad grin found its way to her face when she saw a young girl, probably around her age if not younger, stalking away in a huff from a very saddened looking Brock.

Seeing this, Misty rushed forward, tugging Ash along in the process and making sure his costume was still intact.

"Why the long face Brock? Get shot down again?"

Brock had a hand to his stinging face and turned to see that of his friend and the stranger they had encountered earlier. He gave her a weak smile and sat down in the chair nearest to them.

"That among other things…" he sighed dejectedly, the sting from the slap slowly wearing off, "I still can't seem to find Ash anywhere. I'm starting to think whether he's even here."

"Having that much trouble huh?" smiled Misty knowingly, pulling Ash a little closer to her.

"Yeah," he sighed again, then picked his head up when his eyes caught sight of the pair holding hands, "Sooo….where have you two been all night?" he asked in a very insinuating tone.

Misty simply shrugged off his question and returned to the topic at hand, refusing to give in to her plan.

"So, no sign of Ash anywhere then?" she tried again.

Brock shook his head and then leaned it against his open palm, which he had resting on the nearby table, "No such luck. Seems like he really has outdone himself this year. I'd give you the whole twenty if you could just pick him out of the crowd for me…"

Misty's eyes lit up mischievously and it was at this moment where Ash finally understood where this was going.

Poor, poor Brock, he thought. About to be hit with the surprise that his two best friends had gotten together _and_ losing twenty dollars to Misty…couldn't get much worse than that…

"Oh, is that so? Well, why not just make it thirty then?"

…Or maybe it could…

And Ash had to almost suppress shaking his head in disbelief at the scene unfolding before him.

"Fine thirty, whatever! You won't find him though. You don't know how many people I've pissed off tonight by pulling off their masks, tearing their wigs off (even though some weren't wigs, he muttered), and completely destroying their costumes thanks to Ash's little dare," he said in complete exasperation of the night he had had, "_And_…" he emphasized, sitting a little straighter, "I still haven't had the opportunity to sweep any beauties off their feet tonight. All is lost!"

Misty merely rolled her eyes at her friend's antics before she remembered the task at hand. Smirking, she brought the hand holding Ash's in front of Brock's face so that he could clearly see their intertwined fingers.

"So, you meet some stranger at a party and now, all of a sudden, you're dating?" asked Brock dryly, "Not too sure how Ash is going to…"

And Brock's mouth was left hanging open as he thought through this whole thing. He looked up at the individual with whom he had 'met' at the bar earlier that night and stared. There was something certainly familiar about him, but…no, it couldn't be? Could it? And then, there they were. Those dark brown eyes (that Brock once thought had been blue earlier) were glaring right back at him, a small smirk playing on the young man's lips.

"I'll take that in cash please," announced Misty, sticking her hand out and giving Brock a smile.

"Wh-Wh-What are you talking about?" he stuttered, looking to Misty and then back at the 'stranger.'

Smiling knowingly, Misty pulled Ash in closer and drew his lips to hers instantly. She grabbed the back of his neck and held him tightly, the smile from before still playing over her lips.

Watching out of the corner of her eye, Misty could clearly see Brock gaping at the both of them, mouth slightly ajar, eyes wide open, and arms dangling at his side. Giggling into the kiss and feeling Ash do the same at Brock's reaction, she peeled off his hat and mask and turned his head to face Brock, breaking the kiss off in the process.

"Ta-da!" supplied Misty, placing an arm around Ash's waist as he did the same.

"Sorry Brock, but I really needed to go all out this year," laughed Ash, as Brock continued to gape at them.

"You mean to tell me that you were that guy all along?!" Both Ash and Misty nodded in response to this. "What about your eyes, they were--"

"Contacts," Ash supplied, giving his friend a confident grin, "Not bad, huh? I sure had you two fooled."

"Yes fine, you win," sighed Brock, though a grin crept to the corners of his lips as he pulled out his wallet and handed the thirty dollars to Misty. She happily accepted it and put it in her purse, giving Brock a smug grin as he turned to the two of them once more.

"So…tell me, what exactly happened here?" he asked, pointing between the pair, "I mean, are you two like official now or what? Can we all stop hoping and praying?" he joked, though, in all actuality, he was quite happy for his two friends.

Misty gave Brock a thoughtful look, as if mulling over the answers in her head, before turning to Ash and giving him a small smile. She knew the answer to Brock's question, but was it really as simple as that? Had they really _only_ just gotten together at a party, as two people in love? Well, yes and no, Misty thought. Yes, they loved each other, but what had happened outside simply ran deeper than that of mere childish love.

It was the fact that she had been _fooled_ into it that made it all the more special to her.

"Well he…tricked me," she started softly, placing her arms around his neck and pulling him in closer, "And, for once, I think I'm okay with that."

A/N: So, I can I just honestly say how sorry I am for making this thing like 20 pages long! That was not my intention (once again!) but hey! It wasn't all that bad, right? Anyways, please review, take care, and have a safe and fun Happy Halloween!


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